Freehold Purchase: What You Need to Know - By: Tim Bishop

The first and perhaps the most important aspect of freehold purchase (often referred to as enfranchisement) and how you can make it a smooth transaction is to have a paper trail for all aspects of the enfranchisement process. This means that you need to ensure that all the different stages of the enfranchisement process, right up to the point where the freehold purchase is brought about, are documented.

This merely makes sure that everything can be demonstrated to have been agreed. Not documenting agreements and decisions can be dangerous, when things get stressful and tempers fray disagreements arise and not having things documented means it is harder to resolve problems. If they are documented then there is evidence as to what was actually agreed!

It is crucial that you take on a specialist solicitor and surveyor who know the ins and outs of freehold purchase. The more specialist knowledge you have on side the simpler the enfranchisement process will become. This cannot be over emphasised. There can be a danger of wishing to appoint a solicitor that someone knows or who is known to be 'cheap' but in fact, if you appoint someone who is not wholly familiar with the process of freehold purchase and the vagaries of exercising your freehold right to buy, then you will pay dear for it over time. So only appoint experts in their field.

You should try to appoint a representative amongst all the involved leaseholders, this person then liaises with the solicitor, surveyor and the freeholder's solicitor. This representative must (obviously) be well chosen because they need to have all the skills and diplomacy to manage the situation. If you are finding that strong personalities amongst the leaseholders is causing a problem in choosing the representative, then employ a project manager instead. This is not a cheap option, but the role of liaison is important and if the wrong person is appointed as representative, for example, someone who is bombastic or lacks 'people skills' and has just bullied their way into the role, then the whole enfranchisement process could be seriously undermined.

Lastly, it is of key importance that all parties involved work as a team so that the enfranchisement will be a success. This is not about settling old problems or disputes: this is merely the way to start the freehold purchase!

About the Author

If you need an experienced freehold purchase lawyer then contact Bonallack & Bishop, solicitors specialising in your freehold right to buy. Senior Partner Tim Bishop is responsible for all major strategic decisions, seeing himself as a businessman who owns a law firm. He has expanded the firm by 1000% in 12 years and has plans for its continued development.

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